


we are the poisoned youth

by shizuoh



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Agender Akaashi Keiji, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Blood and Gore, Deaf Character, Deaf Yamaguchi Tadashi, Disabled Character, Gen, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Multi, Mute Kozume Kenma, Sign Language, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse, all the karasuno first years are children, jesus christ this took forever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-03
Updated: 2016-03-03
Packaged: 2018-05-24 13:44:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6155551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shizuoh/pseuds/shizuoh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Kageyama, Hinata, and Yachi are three unfortunate children trapped in a raging zombie apocalypse; and a series of supply runs ends up becoming more than bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we are the poisoned youth

**Author's Note:**

> yknow idk wtf this is honestly
> 
> asl is in bold

The palms of his friends' hands were sweaty as they tightly grasped his own.

The three children held onto each other, occasionally looking behind them to watch the staggering monsters drawing closer and closer, some moving unnaturally faster than others and some so slow they stumbled over one another. The monsters were all around them—ahead, behind—as if there was no escape.

The orange-haired child looked around frantically, eyes wide. The streets were deserted, filled with only overturned and useless cars, fallen lampposts, and trash littered everywhere. Sometimes there was the occasional body, but stuff like that wasn't new around here. Survivors came, sometimes, but they always died. It was only them who stayed.

"Let's go back home!" his blonde friend insisted, her voice hushed down to a whisper to avoid drawing attention from the monsters coming closer. Maybe if they stayed really quiet the monsters would leave them alone.

The orange-haired child and the dark-haired child beside her nodded in agreement, and the three darted towards the alleyway. Their blonde friend let go of their hands for a moment to push the green dumpster that covered the hole in the building. After a few moments, her two friends came to her aid, and the three were eventually able to push it aside just enough to allow three small children through. 

The monster's growls were getting louder, and the children wasted no time clambering inside and pulling the dumpster back to its original spot. There was light banging on the dumpster once they moved away from it, but the three children ignored it, and instead turned on the lights inside their little hideout.

For three months, the children had been holed up in their hideout. They only left whenever they needed food, or medicine from the pharmacy down the street. Unfortunately, their town had been very well-populated, and monsters littered the streets left and right. Only a handful of times had the children almost been caught and bitten, but every time, their friends were there to save one another.

The orange-haired child opened the closet under the stairs, fumbling around for his pillow and blanket. After around a minute of searching with no success, there was a tap on his shoulder, and he turned around to look at the dark-haired child, who was awkwardly holding out his beloved pillow and blanket.

"You, um, left it on my bed yesterday," the dark-haired child mumbled, looking embarrassed as he avoided the other child's gaze.

The orange-haired child took the set with a mesmerized look, and then his eyes sparkled as he grinned as bright as the sun. "Thanks, Tobio!" he exclaimed excitedly, hugging the pillow and blanket close to his chest.

Before the dark-haired child could reply, his blonde friend whistled at him and waved him over. "Kageyama, I need your help with this!" she called.

"Coming," Kageyama said softly, rising to his feet and trotting over to her. He knelt down beside her, watching as her small hands fumbled with some kind of wire in the broken part of the wall. "What's wrong?"

His blonde friend shook her head in confusion. "I dunno... the lights keep flickering, and this wire is all... broken." She furrowed her brows, flexing her fingers before returning to her work, or, whatever it was she was trying to do.

"Don't hurt yourself," he said quickly as he saw a few sparks out of the corner of his eyes. "Maybe we should move somewhere else."

His blonde friend gave him a shocked look. "B-but we've been fine here for a long time!"

Kageyama bit the inside of his cheek, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "W-well, we can't... stay here forever..."

"He's right, Hitoka!" the orange-haired child all but shouted as he suddenly appeared, jumping into their view and taking her hands away from the wiring. "Our goal here is to _not_ get hurt and to be alive!!" He gave them all a bright, encouraging smile. "And we can do whatever it takes to survive!!"

Kageyama exchanged a look with his blonde friend, and fought to hid an amused smile as she snorted. "What did we ever do to deserve you, Hinata?" she giggled, covering her mouth with her hand as she smiled at him. 

The three children looked back down at the wiring, and then up at the lights once they started to flicker again. 

"Well..." the blonde child sighed. "We are running a bit short on food..."

"Then let's grab what we can carry and go!" Hinata shouted, jumping to his feet and rushing up the stairs with incredible speed. "I'll try not to bring too much this time!!"

Kageyama stared at where he just left with a deadpanned expression, and then looked over at his other friend with a small sigh. "Yachi, are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked, brows furrowing in concern. "You don't have to go along with it if you don't want to."

Yachi stared at Kageyama for a long time, eyes boring into his, as if searching for something. Then she smiled softly, and shook her head.

"I don't think there's really a lot left for us here, anyway."

 

* * *

 

It was hard to tell if night was the worst time to come out, or if it was daytime. The sunlight seemed to irritate the monsters' skin, and the cold coming from the night seemed to bother them and, in extreme circumstances, render them immobile. Maybe it was just a bad idea to come out in general.

The children formed a plan from the little knowledge they had of the town, deciding to travel to the mall as soon as the sun set. Sure, it wasn't exactly the best idea, since it would be harder to see, but the children had a flashlight and were used to running around the dark, plus it was a cold night, giving them the advantage of slower enemies.

They bundled up as best they could, just enough to keep them warm and not too much to make it hard to maneuver. While Hinata used his lucky blanket as a carrying case for their remaining food, Yachi packed an old water skin and a locket her mother gave to her when she was three, and Kageyama packed the matches and tiny first-aid kit that had yet to be used fully.

Flashlight in-hand, Yachi took the lead and pushed the dumpster aside, peering outside for any signs of monsters. When the faint grumbles and moans were distant, she nodded at the other two and slipped out, making way for the boys to come out. As she was about to run forward, her feet nearly caught a fallen stick on the ground, and she stopped just before she tripped over it. Looking down, Yachi picked up the cold stick, twirling it in her hands and letting it fall into her palm. She tightened her grip on it, putting the stick in her dominant hand just in case she needed a weapon.

There wasn't much of anything to be used as a weapon in what was left of the town—and a stick's usefulness runs out quick when you're surrounded by a horde of monsters. Guns were out of the question; there wasn't any anywhere that they could find and even if there were, none of them had any idea how to use one. Sure, there were scattered knives elsewhere, but most of the time the blades they found were so overused they broke before they even had a chance to use them.

So, sticks it was.

"Do you see any?" Hinata whispered, shifting his grip on the blanket-turned-carrying-case.

Yachi bit her tongue, halting her footsteps to listen for any signs of approaching monsters. The only ones she could see were very far away, and the only sounds around were the faint whispers of the cold wind. She looked back at her friends and nodded once.

"The mall is in that direction," she murmured, pointing directly ahead of them with the back of the flashlight. "We'll need to run, and then... take a left, I think?" She looked down at her hands, and then tossed the flashlight to Kageyama. He just barely caught it, and when he gave Yachi a startled look, she winced slightly as she figured she should've warned him first. "You lead the way with the flashlight," she instructed, "and I'll be the defense."

To prove her point, she swung the stick in both hands.

Kageyama looked between her face and the flashlight, and then nodded. The three children checked one more time for approaching monsters, and then took a deep breath before making a break for it.

If the monsters had noticed them, it was impossible to tell. The children stayed as low as they could, moving quickly but quietly across the street, careful not to step on any fallen trash or trip over anything that would give them away. Once they made it to the other side of the street, they pushed themselves against the wall of the random store, taking a moment to catch their breaths and calm their nerves down.

Hinata took Kageyama's hand on instinct, and didn't let go even as they advanced forward.

To get to the mall they would have to cross the highway. The town was just off the highway, almost like a pit-stop months ago for travelers to rest as they prepared for the next journey of their trip.

But now it was completely deserted, nothing but rubble and broken-down cars left in its wake. It was amazing what six months could do to society.

"Are there any on the highway?" Kageyama whispered, leaning down and hiding behind a sign, the words scratched out and unreadable. 

Yachi peered over the sign, squinting to see better in the dark barely illuminated by the moon, and then let out a frustrated sigh a few moments later. "I, um, guess we'll find out," she said, tightening her grip on her stick. "I can't see anything."

The two boys exchanged a worried look as they followed their friend, Yachi crouched in a defensive position as they stayed low to the ground, using the cars nearby as cover as they traveled upwards on the highway. Some areas of the highway had crumbled, due to the panic that came from the first weeks of the monster attack when humans were killing humans and destroying everything.

Yachi let out a slow breath, narrowing her eyes as her feet crunched against stained pavement broken up. She kicked it aside, watching as it slid underneath a car, and idly wondered if that was a mistake as she stepped forward. She heard a sudden, incomprehensible noise, and stopped, lifting her hand to signal the other two behind her to stop as well. They all held their breaths, not daring to move or even think as they listened carefully, precisely. 

Then there was a hand grabbing at her leg and she screamed out of reflex.

Her friends dropped whatever they were holding, rushing to her side and grabbing whatever they could to pull her out. Hinata tugged her jacket, Kageyama pulled at her wrists, the two both frantically struggling and straining over the strength of the monster.

Yachi's scream had attracted other monsters, and they were slow as they staggered towards the three. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart was hammering in her chest—oh _god_ was she going to die? And just before they made it to safety? She shook her head violently, tears and snot dirtying her face as she sobbed and kicked back against the monster reaching up and its grip was tightening and pulling her back further under the car and then there was something digging into her leg and she screamed.

Hinata was screaming her name, Kageyama was crying, and monsters were closing in and trapping them from all sides—

Then she was being lifted up in someone's arms and her leg was hurting oh so badly and her head was pounding and her vision was clouded with red _what is going on what is happening?_ —

Hinata was yelling something, and in his hands was a bloody rock—Yachi could see that much from her clouded vision. Whose blood was it? Was it hers? She looked back towards the car she had almost gotten pulled under, and saw a monster lying on the ground, face-down, with a deep wound in its head, as if it were smashed in. There was blood everywhere, and Yachi was sure that hers was somewhere mixed in it.

 _We're almost there we're almost at the mall and we'll be safe_ someone was saying, but she couldn't tell who it was. They were both shoving past monsters, using Yachi's stick to bash them away to clear a path ahead of them straight to the mall and _oh right_ , they were going to the mall, so they could be safe and have more food and survive—

What if the mall wasn't safe? What if there were more monsters there and everything was a mistake? Oh god _oh god_ she felt like crying and no, wait, she already was crying and she was going to vomit and sob and break down all at once.

Then her vision wasn't blurry anymore and she was staring at Kageyama's worried eyes. She was in his arms, just barely being held up, and she hopped out, immediately regretting it when a harsh pain rocked her body from head to toe, originating from her leg. She groaned loudly, hunching over and gripping Kageyama's shoulders for leverage as she leaned down to examine her leg. Her pant leg was stained with red and she was almost too afraid to look underneath, and just as she was rolling it up there was a loud yell from ahead, and she and Kageyama raced forward across the rocky highway despite the pain in order to make it to Hinata.

Hinata was already far ahead of them, and he was face-to-face with a monster, his stick cast aside and broken up and stained with blood. He stared at the monster, his eyes brimming with fear but his face burning with determination as he glared at the monster daringly. Yachi stopped, her leg rendering her useless to walk, and she stumbled against the hood of a car as Kageyama charged forward and shoved himself against the monster with all his might. He and the monster tumbled to the ground, rolling down part of the highway until Kageyama was sitting above it. Kageyama, compared to the monster, was very small and frail-looking, but his adrenaline was granting him with an incredible strength that gave him the state of mind to grab a nearby rock and smash it against the monster's forehead before the monster could lean up and bite him. 

The monster fell back lifelessly, and Kageyama quickly stumbled off it, throwing the rock down against its head once more for good measure, before turning towards Hinata and Yachi with terrified eyes overflowing with tears. Hinata nearly tripped as he raced towards him, practically jumping on him as he enveloped him in a tight hug. The two went back to help Yachi up, even going so far as to pick her up before her weight was too much for them.

There wasn't any time to recollect themselves, and monsters coming from behind were growling lowly in their throats as they staggered forward. The night was dragging on and getting colder, and the moon high in the sky almost seemed like it was cheering the children on as they stumbled away from the highway and in the direction of the mall in the distance.

 

* * *

 

Less monsters appeared as they approached the rundown mall. The parking lot was practically void, and the three children had hardly any trouble as they climbed in through the broken glass doors and inside.

It was much darker inside, the walls hiding them from the light of the moon, and Kageyama turned on the flashlight (he mentally thanked whatever god was watching that he still had it after the highway), and shined it around the room. The mall looked very typical, trash littered everywhere and dirt scattered across the ground. The fountain was off and the water inside was murky and brown, and the escalators were off and had various objects cluttering it.

"I think there's two floors," Hinata said quietly, his voice breathless and sounding strained. "Where do we go?" He looked back at Yachi, only to jump to her side once she groaned out loud and stumbled to the ground.

"...I don't think she can move very much," Kageyama mumbled worriedly, chewing on his lower lip as he helped Yachi move until she was leaning against the wall.

Yachi swallowed, trying to muffle down her groans and instead letting out heavy, strained breaths as she reached down and rolled up her pant leg. She winced at the blood that seeped onto her fingers, but eventually managed to roll it all the way above her knee, and Kageyama shined the light down onto the wound to see better.

It was like the world stopped.

What she saw was a bite mark, fresh and glistening with blood as the teeth marks began to easily bruise onto her skin. Marks of where the monster had grabbed her ankles were beginning to form into scabs, and Yachi turned around so she could vomit into a nearby bush she was sure was fake.

"...No." Hinata's tone was shaky, and he gulped. "No, it's _not_ a bite. You're fine."

"Hinata—"

" _No!_ You are _fine_ , Hitoka!!" Hinata insisted desperately, slapping his hands against the cold, dirty floor of the mall. "We made it to the mall and we're _safe_ , okay!?"

Yachi closed her eyes, throwing an arm over her face and sniffling as she tried to hide her humiliation. Even though she wasn't sure what she was humiliated about—she managed to survive for six months with no incidents, and as soon as she agrees to leave their safe haven, she winds up getting _bitten_. All because she let her guard down for a moment, all because she decided to kick the rock away and draw attention to herself. For a moment she wondered what it would be like to go back in time to stop herself. If this was all meant to happen, what kind of consequences would her past self face if she went back to save herself? Would one of her friends be bitten instead of her? Her head began to hurt at the thought.

"I'm sorry—"

"Don't be," Kageyama interrupted, startling her. His head was hung low, bangs hiding his eyes but his voice betrayed him and they could tell he was crying from the way he was shaking and the way his tears pattered against the grey floor. "It's _my_ fault. I didn't...." He lifted his hand to wipe at his eyes. "I didn't pull you back in time," he sobbed.

Hinata and Yachi stared at him, and Yachi gripped both of his arms tightly, forcing him to look her in the eye.

"None of this is your fault," she whispered reassuringly, and when he shook his head, she gritted her teeth and shook him. "It's _not_ your fault," she tried again, but her voice cracked in the middle of her sentence and she was crying even harder. But she paid no mind to her tears, or Kageyama's, or Hinata's, and instead wrapped her hands around Kageyama's that were holding onto the flashlight.

He blinked down at her hands, and then back at her face in confusion, tears hanging off his eyelashes, ready to fall.

"If I start showing any signs—"

"No!"

" _Listen to me!!_ " she yelled, harsher than she intended to, and she furrowed her eyebrows as she dug her nails into Kageyama's skin to make sure he got the message. "If I start showing signs of _any_ kind, I don't _care_ how _little_ , I want you to hit me with this flashlight."

"Y-Yachi, _no_ , please please _please_ —"

"Kageyama," she said, a bit calmer this time, and she sighed. " _Please_ do this for me. As my last wish." She swallowed, hard, and let the tears fall off her face as she leaned up to wrap her arms around her friend. "I don't want to hurt anybody."

"...I don't want to hurt _you_ ," Kageyama wept, burying his messy face in Yachi's shoulder and twisting his fingers in the fabric of her jacket. Yachi just rubbed at the back of his head, and let out a slow sigh as Hinata hugged her from behind, his arms around her waist and his face pressed against her back. He was crying too, silently, oddly enough, while Kageyama was the one wailing into her shoulder.

She held the both of them for what seemed like forever, until Yachi felt dreariness begin to overtake her, and she reluctantly pulled away from their embrace to lean weakly back against the wall. She didn't look at either Kageyama or Hinata—the looks they were giving her would've just destroyed her.

"...I'm gonna go to sleep," she whispered, throat thick like something was blocking it, and it hurt to just talk. She smiled softly, reaching into her jacket and pulling out her mother's locket to wrap her small hand around. "I'll meet you guys again, okay?"

"Hitoka—"

She put her finger to her lips, closing her eyes slowly, letting her mind replace the image of Kageyama and Hinata's crying faces with their smiles and her mother's smiles, with memories of before the monsters. The pain in her leg began to blur and her consciousness was fading.

And she fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

The next time she opened her eyes, there was a gun being pointed directly at her face.

"She's not showing signs," a gruff voice said, the owner's face covered by a black mask. "Her eyes look normal."

"That's not possible," another said. "Let me see her."

Her mind was a blur, and she could barely comprehend what was going on as a gloved hand roughly grabbed her chin and a masked face was staring directly at her. Even though she couldn't see a pair of eyes, she felt herself being studied, and suddenly she felt exposed and anxious and she squirmed uncomfortably in the masked person's grip.

"You're right," the masked person said, letting go of her chin and stepping back, and then turned to look at their companion. "What do we do?"

Yachi blinked, rubbing at her chin, and then quickly looked down at her wound. The bite mark was still there, but it was somewhat healed, the blood leftover having dried into a red crust along the wound and the bruises faded.

Then she stopped. Wasn't she supposed to have turned? How long did it take for people to turn?

When she looked around her, she realized Kageyama and Hinata were nowhere to be found.

Yachi's eyes went wide, and as if the masked people realized what she was thinking, they threw out their arms and secured her down on the ground just as she was about to jump up and make a grab at them. She grunted, gritting her teeth and spitting at them as she wriggled around. "Where are my friends!?" she demanded, practically screaming in their faces.

"Whoa, hey, calm down!" one of them exclaimed, their voice much lighter than before, and their grip on her loosened slightly. "Your friends, the two boys, right? They're fine! We have them in our car."

"W-what? Car?" Yachi narrowed her eyes. " _Why_ are you here!? What do you _want!?_ "

"We came looking for supplies," the masked person explained, while the other who had gripped her chin remained silent beside them, "but then we saw you asleep on the ground curled up with two other kids, and we were about to save you but then we saw the bite mark on your leg and well, uh, we panicked." They scratched the back of their head nervously, and turned to glance at their companion. "We grabbed your friends and got them out of the building 'cause we thought you were gonna turn, but..."

Yachi blinked. "But _what?_ "

"It's been a few hours and you're showing no signs."

"Wh... what does that mean?" she asked hesitantly, almost afraid of the answer.

"The infected bite changes people within 10 minutes," the previously-silent masked figure explained, adjusting their gun strap. "Starts with a fever, then a sore throat, and then red spots all around the infected area. Then, after 9 minutes, the teeth begin to grow at an accelerated rate, and then, finally, after 10 minutes, the infected person starts _eating_ everyone." They practically spat the last words out, and Yachi gulped.

"This is so cool!!" the other exclaimed, clenching their fists and literally hooting in excitement. "It's like in all the movies!! We have someone who's immune!"

The other masked person sighed. "We don't know that. Maybe the bite wasn't deep enough."

"...It was bleeding badly," Yachi mumbled, picking at her nails sheepishly, "and it hurt a lot."

"See!!" the other shouted, gesturing wildly at her. "Let's take her back to Keiji and the others!"

As the two exchanged their banter, Yachi gulped down her hesitation and tapped on one of their shoulders. They jolted, snapping out of their conversation and turning to her. "A-ah, sorry, um..." she stammered, nervous even though the two were the ones to come at her first, "who... exactly are you?"

It took a few moments for them to realize. "Oh, these masks are probably a bit intimidating. Oops." The two removed their masks simultaneously, and Yachi blinked up at them once the sunlight from outside illuminated their faces. "Sorry 'bout that!"

The more talkative one of the two had tanned skin, a wide grin, and golden eyes that reflected in the light and bounced off his white-and-black hair that hung in his face. The other had spiky black hair, and dark brown eyes that looked intimidating and terrifying. Yachi squeaked at his stare, jumping backwards and flinching when all she met was the wall.

"Quit scarin' her, Iwaizumi," the cheerful one scoffed, slapping his arm, and then turned to smile down at Yachi. "I'm Bokuto. Bokuto Koutarou! And that's my friend Iwaizumi Hajime."

"...I'm Yachi. Hitoka," she replied, hoping her voice wasn't shaking as she finally broke away from Iwaizumi's intense gaze to focus on Bokuto's much easier-to-handle one. 

"We have other survivors back at our camp," Bokuto said, and held out his hand. "We can take you and your friends there and you'll be safe!"

"'Safe'..." Yachi whispered, and then grimaced. "Last time we tried to get safe it ended up in me getting bitten and my friends promising to kill me."

At that, Iwaizumi let out a loud laugh. "Kid's got attitude."

Bokuto just snickered, and ruffed her messy blonde hair. "Yeah, yeah, but we got pretty good food at our safe place," he insisted, and poked at her stomach. "A growing kid like you needs lots of strength if you're gonna be able to fight in the future. I'll bet you're hungry, too."

As if on cue, Yachi's stomach decided to let out a loud growl, and she blushed in embarrassment and threw her arms over her stomach as if to hide it.

Bokuto and Iwaizumi both laughed, and when Bokuto offered his hand again, Yachi took it and stumbled to her feet. Her leg still throbbed, and she nearly fell forward onto the ground, but then Bokuto looped his hands under her arms and swooped her up into his arms. He was surprisingly strong, and Yachi blinked down at him, automatically letting her arms fall around his shoulders as she gave him a startled look.

He only grinned down at her. "Shall we go, milady?"

Yachi giggled. "Yes, Mr. Knight."

 

* * *

 

The promised camp that belonged to Iwaizumi and Bokuto was far from what the children anticipated. 

They were taking shelter in a hospital in an abandoned suburban area about two miles away from the mall. Many of the buildings nearby had either been burned down or destroyed, and the children assumed that nearly all of them had been looted by straggling survivors already. Unless the inhabitants of the men's camp _were_ the straggling survivors, and instead of just taking what they needed and leaving, they decided to stay and set themselves up.

It made sense. The area was practically void of any signs of life—and that included the _monsters_.

Bokuto and Iwaizumi had put their masks back on once they neared the building. The building was quite run-down, but six months before, it was probably a thriving hospital with a beautiful interior and skilled doctors. Now it was reduced to nothing—nothing except for scary-looking people just trying to survive in a fucked-up world.

But hospitals were usually a bad place to be in. If they hadn't been cleared out when the pandemic first started, then they were nearly always overrun with monsters, some doctors and nurses but most patients. But when Bokuto and Iwaizumi escorted the children inside, it was completely empty. There were tables and mattress set out in some places, and rooms had been cleared out to make space for other, more important things.

Incredible.

Out of the corner of Yachi's eye, she saw a figure pushing a wheelchair into a room, but when she turned her head to get a better look, all she could see was the quickly-fading shadow. Disappointed, she frowned, and looked up at Bokuto in hopes of him telling her where exactly they were going. He smiled down at her, patting her head, mistaking her questioning gaze for a look of worry. She was about to open her mouth and clarify, but then something interrupted them.

"Whoa, whoa," a sudden voice said, and suddenly the children were being pushed forward as Bokuto was abruptly grabbed by someone from behind. "Who are these kids, Bo?"

Bokuto flashed a cheeky grin to the taller, unknown male ( _with horrid hair_ , Yachi noted) in front of him. "I'm taking them to Keiji!"

"That doesn't answer my question."

Iwaizumi scoffed from beside Bokuto, putting his hands on his hips. " _Please_. You can drop the tough-guy act, Kuroo."

The man, Kuroo, flashed him an annoyed glare. "It's _no_ act, dude. I'm 100% tough-guy."

A shorter male with dark brown hair suddenly appeared behind Kuroo, moving his hands and giving the taller a pointed glare. Apparently he had said something, for Kuroo gasped dramatically and put a hand on his chest in mock offense.

"I can't _believe_ you would say such a thing!" he exclaimed, pouting childishly. "I, _obviously_ , am totally and completely tough."

The shorter male moved his hands again.

Kuroo rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'm not listening to you anymore."

Without a word, the shorter male turned on his heel and walked away. Hinata watched him leave with a curious gleam in his eye. He made a mental note to talk to him later; he was intrigued. 

"Hey," Bokuto said, catching Kuroo's attention, "where's Keiji, anyway?"

Kuroo nudged his shoulder towards a room in the back. "Akaashi's in there. Said they're trying to work up new supply run routes or something."

Bokuto bit his lip. "Are they too busy?"

"Not unless these kids of yours are important enough," Kuroo laughed, and then looked down at each of them. He knelt down, tilting his head and giving them an almost judging stare with his catlike eyes. "So, who are you guys? Got names?"

"I'm Hinata Shouyou!" Hinata immediately exclaimed, raising his hand in the air like he was asking a teacher a question. "These are my friends!! We're all a team and we've been together for six months!!"

"Kageyama Tobio..." he mumbled quietly, looking shy underneath Kuroo's gaze. 

Yachi glanced over at her friends with a fond smile. "I'm Yachi Hitoka," she introduced, swallowing down her anxiety and fear at the possibility of not being taken well. She was bitten and hadn't turned in a day, and it was like Iwaizumi said—the infected turned within 10 minutes. And it had definitely been _much_ longer than ten minutes.

Kuroo nodded thoughtfully. "I'm Kuroo Testurou. I manage the weaponry around here."

Iwaizumi snorted. "I still have no clue why Akaashi put you in charge of the weapons."

Kuroo rolled his eyes at the comment, and waved him off, returning his attention back to the children. "Well, I should be going. Kenma'll be missing me."

"No he won't."

"Shut up, Iwaizumi." The scoff wasn't insulting, but almost affectionate and teasing, like these people had known each other for some time. And with that final scoff, Kuroo waved his hand to the children and walked away, presumably in the direction of where "Kenma" went (Yachi guessed it was the man from earlier; the one who had been moving his hands).

Bokuto let out a soft sigh, whispering something to Iwaizumi, and then put his hand on Yachi's head. "Ready?"

Yachi raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

He only gave a laugh in response.

 

* * *

 

As soon as Bokuto opened the door, there was a sigh from the other side.

"This better be importa—"

Whoever was speaking cut themself off, and the children were faced with a surprisingly beautiful person, giving the three a confused and suspicious stare, their gaze flickering from the children to Bokuto.

"Koutarou, who are they?" the person asked, furrowing their eyebrows and gesturing one of their hands towards the three.

Bokuto gave Yachi a knowing look.  _Go ahead_ , his eyes seemed to say.  _Show 'em what you got._

Yachi gulped down a sudden lump in her throat, and grabbed onto Bokuto's sleeve for leverage as she reached down and pulled up her pant leg. She winced as she saw the bite mark, but was surprised to see how quickly the deep wound had faded over.

The beautiful person, Akaashi, no doubt, leaned in with squinted eyes to see better, and Yachi could practically see the gears turning in their mind. They stared for a moment, and anxiety began to swell and settle in Yachi's stomach and increase her nerves as the person's eyes got very wide. Then they were jumping back, unsheathing a hidden blade from their right boot and holding it out in front of them defensively.

"She's been bitten!" they yelled in disbelief. "Why did you bring an _infected_ girl here!?"

Bokuto tripped over his words for a moment, obviously startled by their sudden defensive maneuver, but he managed to slow himself down enough to get a comprehensible sentence out. "I—well, I know this looks bad but just hear me out, okay?" He held his hands in front of him, hesitantly taking a step forward towards the other. "Keiji," he said slowly. "Just trust me, alright?"

Akaashi bit the inside of their cheek, and then looked over at Yachi. They seemed to be thinking deeply, but Yachi couldn't read their eyes. When they turned to stare at Bokuto again, they sighed softly and shoved the blade back to its hiding spot. "Fine," they muttered, and then shoved an angry finger into Bokuto's chest. "But you damn well better explain what's going on."

Bokuto smiled, and Yachi raised a brow at the gesture.

"Well, okay, so we were out on a supply run, right?"

 

* * *

 

Halfway through the story, Akaashi had sent the children out. They assumed it was because they had important things to discuss with Bokuto afterwards, so none of them dared to interfere.

They sat outside the room on the floor, leaning against the wall—Kageyama with his knees to his chest, Hinata with his leg splayed out in front of him as he slumped on the wall, and Yachi sitting with her legs crossed between them. The muffled voices of Akaashi and Bokuto were faint on the other side of the wall, and the loudest things they could hear from them was the occasional _Hey, Akaashi! Calm down, your face looks scary!_ Then Bokuto would laugh, followed by silence. Akaashi was probably not amused in the slightest.

"Hey," came a soft, calm voice.

Hinata was the first to look up, his face tilting upwards in lightning speed. He was always eager to meet new people—it had got them into trouble more than once.

It was the man from earlier; Kuroo. He had a pleasant smile on his face, compared to his previous terrifying frown that was apparently supposed to be intimidating. He walked up to them and squatted down, ruffling Hinata's hair and grinning at his laugh.

"How are you guys doing?" he asked, and once he saw their shared glances, snorted. "Yeah, Akaashi can be a bit... much. They're just thinking of the best for the group, you know?" He cracked his jaw, and glanced to the left in thought. "Well... I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Are they going to kick us out?" Yachi mumbled quietly, clenching her shirt and focusing her gaze on the dirt and dried blood underneath her nails ( _Ew_ , she thought, _it's been so long since I've taken a shower._ ) "Since... I got bitten... and all."

Kuroo looked shocked at her sudden question, his surprise showing quite obviously on his face. He quickly masked it and shook his head lightly, and then gave Yachi a nervous smile. He reached out, patting her knee far too hesitantly, and yikes, it was just awkward. He didn't seem to sure of what to say, so Hinata spoke up for him.

"There's no _way_ they'll kick us out!!" he exclaimed, taking her hands in his and squeezing. "We're too cool for them to let us go!!"

Kuroo snorted, covering his mouth with his hand. "Yeah," he laughed, nodding in Hinata's direction. "That kid's got the right idea."

Yachi smiled a little, and even saw the corners of Kageyama's lips quirk upwards. She squeezed Hinata's hands back, and he let go. Yachi turned back towards Kuroo, folding her hands in her lap and looking up at his face. He looked much calmer, all traces of former awkwardness gone as if they had never existed in the first place.

"If we do stay here, where will we stay?" she asked, brushing her hair behind her ear and hoping the shaking in her fingers would go unnoticed. "Back where we were, we managed to hole up there for a long time." The tremors in her hands stopped as she gave Kuroo a hard stare. "Is this hospital safe?"

The sudden flinch in his shoulders was pleasing. His face began to flush as he shrugged. "I-I—yeah, it is. We've only been here for around two months and a half, but we've managed to make the most of it." He gave a tiny chuckle, and glanced all around the room. "Looks pretty depressing when you're all alone, though." Then something flashed in his eyes, like he was just remembering something. "Oh yeah, I forgot," he said, and looked down at the kids, "how the hell have you been surviving all this time? Did you have others with you?"

The kids exchanged glances, and collectively shook their heads.

"For the first month we stuck with two people who offered to take care of us," Kageyama said, lifting his head a little, and then his frown deepened. "But they died."

"Oh..." Kuroo bit his lip. "I'm almost afraid to ask about your parents." He tried to shake it off with a laugh, but the atmosphere that had settled in was thick, so the kids figured they'd make the most of it.

Yachi was the first to speak. "My mommy's boyfriend was one of the first to turn," she said, her eyes blank, like none of it fazed her in the slightest. "My mommy grabbed me and started running over to Hinata's house." She nudged her elbow in said boy's direction. "We didn't live too far from each other and we hang out together a lot. But... when we got there..." She glanced over at Hinata, and nodded once she saw the silent confirmation in his eyes that said she could continue. "...his parents were dead."

"My little sister ran away..." Hinata whispered, wrapping his arms around himself and shaking softly. "She saw... she saw _everything_. She was so little... she was only five." He bit his lip. 

Kuroo was speechless, his eyes wide, and it almost looked like he was going to cry. Yachi didn't blame him (but she felt guilty for sharing her sob story when she was sure that she had no right to; there were people who had lost _everything_ and here she was, in a functioning facility complete with food and water. In her opinion, she had _no_ right to be sad).

"Me and Hinata teamed up," Yachi continued, patting her friend's shoulder. "We were alone for two weeks until we met Kageyama." Said boy only grunted at the mention of himself. "He was all by himself in a grocery store, going through the cereal aisle."

All three looked at him. Kageyama pouted, "All the milk was bad."

"After the couple we tagged along with," Yachi said with a sigh, and tucked her knees to her chest, her eyes fixed to the floor, "we've been alone. Well, not alone, I guess... but we've only had each other."

Kuroo opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a slow exhale, and he scratched the back of his neck. He glanced around the room, looking anywhere but them. "Man, I..." he muttered, and scoffed. "I'm sorry."

Yachi gave a half-hearted shrug in response.

To lighten the mood, Kuroo slapped his hands against his thighs and stood. Without waiting for them to grab his hand, he grabbed them by their sleeves and gently pulled them to their feet. They looked up at him with surprised looks as he smiled down at the three.

"Well, since I'm assuming Bo is gonna be in there for a while," he said, scratching his chin and winking, even though the kids were confused as to what he was getting at, "how about I show you guys around? Maybe introduce you to the people here?"

Hinata gave him a bright smile and nodded eagerly. Kageyama folded his arms and looked away. Yachi glanced between the two boys beside her and hesitantly nodded.

Their responses seemed to please Kuroo, and he clapped his hands together with a strange confidence before his grin grew even brighter. "I know a few who you'll get along with _juuuuust_ fine!"

His words were ominous. Yachi felt a weird sense of foreshadowing washing over her like a waterfall.

 

* * *

 

Over the course of the next week, the three were introduced to everyone on ground, warmed up to the surroundings, and given instructions on how to help out around.

Kageyama was mostly placed with Iwaizumi and Oikawa, who guarded the doors and kept on lookout mostly. They gave him tips on how to use a weapon properly, how to scope out the monsters ( _zombies_ , was what Oikawa called them, and Iwaizumi had hit him and lectured him on watching too many stupid movies), but Kageyama mostly listened to them tell stories about their lives before the collapse of the world. They had played volleyball together and were a great team, but then everything was ruined six months ago and they were forced to kill most of their team when they turned. In return, Kageyama decided to tell them about his life before the collapse—which, in all honesty, wasn't the greatest (his parents were very, _very_ mean, after all, and none of that changed six months ago).

(Much to Kageyama's dismay, Oikawa was _very_ insistent on holding him and treating him as if he were his little brother.)

Hinata hung mostly around Kenma and Kuroo, even though he was placed in the kitchen with Suga and Daichi. Hinata's reaction to Kenma being mute was not what the latter expected, and instead, Kenma decided to teach him sign language. He was a fast learner, despite not having much time to take everything in. Kuroo only watched with amusement as Kenma subtly grew excited at someone being interested in his language.

("You like that Hinata kid, don't you? I haven't seen you this excited about something since you got that game almost a year ago." 

**...I'm not excited**

"Are too."

**Are not.**

"Are too.")

Yachi, on the other hand, decided not to stick to just specific people, and migrated from room to room. She originally stuck around in the kitchen, but then decided to explore further after getting bored. She hung around Iwaizumi occasionally, and had surprised the other when she expressed interest in learning how to shoot a gun. She learned alongside Kageyama, getting the hang of it after quite a few tries.

("Can we adopt them, Iwa-chan?"

" _Absolutely not._ ")

Akaashi was very reluctant to be around the children, and their eyes always watched Yachi whenever she was near, as if any second she would turn into one of those horrifying monsters. And nothing ever seemed to change their mind. Not even Suga's input on how quickly her bite wound was healing, and he had been a medicine major before the collapse.

But Yachi was determined to make Akaashi her friend, so she decided to start at the person seemingly closest to them: Bokuto Koutarou.

Bokuto was very, _very_ energetic, and reminded her of Hinata. But he sometimes got dejected and needed a little more than cheering up, and Yachi would have to sit for nearly half an hour trying to get him to just lift his head. However, when he was broken out of his mood, he was more than happy to spend time with her. He even had suggested they could _play dress-up, or, like, whatever it is little girls like you like these days. What about trucks? Do girls like guns?? Probably._

Yachi had spent so much time befriending Bokuto and hanging out with him whenever possible that she almost forgot her mission: become besties with Akaashi Keiji.

Except her plans were cut short when Akaashi announced that they were organizing another supply run.

 

* * *

 

"Last time you went out for a supply run, you brought back three 9-year olds," Akaashi said firmly, pointing at said children.

"I'm almost 10!" Hinata piped, raising his hand, and was promptly shut up when Kageyama yanked on his hair.

Bokuto rolled his shoulders. "Well, then do you want us to go back out?" he asked. "Our last trip wasn't meant to go very far anyways!"

Iwaizumi cleared his throat, directing the attention towards him. "Our usual spot is really low on supplies," he said, crossing his arms. "We'll need to travel out farther if we want to bring back the things we need."

Akaashi narrowed their eyes. "How long will a trip take?"

"Well, the nearest town that we haven't checked out is pretty far," he replied, and tapped his fingers against his chin. "Um... I'd say around half a day's trip."

There was a collective silence.

Akaashi rubbed the temples of their forehead. "It's going to take us a full day to get what we need?"

"...Yeah."

Yachi lifted her head. "What about the town we came from?"

Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow at her. "Huh? No, we already picked that place clean. It's overflowing with those bastards now, especially with the highway."

Yachi's throat went dry, and she lowered her head.

"It usually doesn't take us a full day," Akaashi muttered to themself, picking at the edge of their sleeves and chewing on their lip. "It's a really bad idea to hang around overnight, let alone _drive_."

"Then we walk," Bokuto suggested, raising an eyebrow.

Akaashi gave him a look that basically screamed _Are you stupid!?_ and they held out their hands in front of them. "Kou, that is a _terrible_ idea. What the fuck?"

"The car can help us make quick escapes, even if the engine gives us away," Iwaizumi said. "I say we take it."

Akaashi nodded. "Take the car. I'll gather everyone up and get the weapons." As they turned to leave, they stopped at the door, and turned to stare the children. "You three stay here, and _don't_ cause any trouble for anyone."

Hinata pouted. "But I wanna go—"

" _No_ ," Akaashi hissed, and their grip tightened on the doorway. "I'm not going to put humanity's hopes in danger by letting them go on a silly little 'field trip'."

Kageyama raised his eyebrows. "But Yachi's the only one immune to the bite, right?"

Akaashi was quiet for a moment. Then, they sighed, and looked down at him with unreadable eyes. "We don't know if you two are immune or not."

Then they were gone.

 

* * *

 

The sun was already descending from its place in the sky by the time they reached the town.

The town was unknown territory, and the anxiety rising in Oikawa's chest made his heart thump. He leaned back in the front seat, hands tugging at his knees, and glanced out of the corner of his eye to look at Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi's hands were placed firmly on the steering wheel, gripping so tightly his knuckles were white. There was sweat trailing down his forehead, even though it wasn't hot outside at all. In fact, it was beginning to get cooler.

"Iwa-chan, we'll be fine," Oikawa said reassuringly, hesitantly reaching out to touch Iwaizumi's shoulder. He squeezed, trying to force a calm smile onto his face, but even he knew that this whole outing was extremely dangerous (in a town they've never been to, with no signs of occupation or not, what could possibly go wrong?).

Iwaizumi let out a sigh. "I know." His voice was firm. "I'm not going to let anyone get hurt, either."

Oikawa bit the inside of his cheek and let his hand fall. As soon as it dropped back into his lap, he felt Iwaizumi's calloused hand slip into his. Iwaizumi rubbed his thumb over his fingers, tracing the skin. Oikawa swallowed, feeling his face heat up despite the absurdity of the situation. When he looked up from their intertwined hands, he was staring into Iwaizumi's eyes, taking in the swirl of dark and the hidden traces of affection beneath the cold exterior. He opened his mouth to speak when Akaashi beat him to it.

"I hate to ruin the moment," they said, leaning forward from their place in the back seat, "but we're coming up on a gas station to the right."

The two looked up, but they didn't break their laced hands. Iwaizumi glanced around for a place to safely park, and turned into the alleyway in between the gas station and what looked like a pharmacy. As they climbed out of the car, Akaashi idly suggested they check out the pharmacy afterwards.

Kenma pulled his pistol out of his pocket, choosing not to waste the big guns when they had small ones available. He stepped forward first as Akaashi and Oikawa set out to check the gas tanks. He felt Kuroo's presence behind him as he held his gun in front of him, narrowing his eyes as he peered inside the dark station. The door was slightly ajar, being propped open with the leg of a body lying on the ground.

Kuroo rushed forward, pointing his gun directly at the body's skull, and slowly let out a sigh of relief when he took note of the old bullet hole already lodged though its forehead. He lowered his gun slightly, still watchful of his surroundings, and motioned for Kenma to follow.

The interior of the gas station was very dark, but from the setting sunlight shining through the door, the two were able to see overturned boxes of food and blood and other liquids spilled all over the floor. There was a small pile of dead bodies by the soda machine, and one with its head shoved through the freezer door, like someone had tried to kill it by smashing its head over and over.

Bokuto and Iwaizumi walked in, the latter carelessly kicking the leg away from the door. 

"Do you see any food around?" Bokuto asked, trying to keep his voice down.

Kenma shook his head.  **I'd have to look around more** , he signed.

Iwaizumi raised his gun, and pointed it towards the door behind the counter. "I'll make sure we're alone," he said softly, and walked in that direction. Bokuto decided to follow him, and then Kuroo and Kenma were left alone.

 **Check around for food that's still okay to eat** , Kenma instructed with a look that could almost be classified as a glare.

His golden eyes bored into Kuroo's. Kuroo nodded, and took a step forward, but as soon as he did, something broke through the thick tension—a voice. 

"HEY!" came Akaashi's voice from outside, and the others were out in an instant.

Akaashi had their knife out and was running towards the car. By the car's trunk, a shadowed silhouette whipped their head around, looking panicked. The figure was smaller than them, and it was hard to tell whether they were one of the monsters. But as they started running as fast as they could, some kind of object in hand, it quickly clicked that this person was, in fact, still _alive_ and a survivor.

Oikawa was the first to speak. "They took one of the guns!"

"C'mon," Akaashi muttered, nudging their head towards the direction of where the person just dashed off. 

The group ran ahead, staying low and quiet in order to avoid attracting the attention of any possible monsters lurking around. The sun was beginning to set fully, and the sky was casting into night, and the lack of light was making it hard to track the thief as they suddenly turned the corner... and bolted straight into the pharmacy. Either it was a trap, or they were very stupid for escaping where the group could very obviously see where they were hiding.

Akaashi held up their hand, skidding to a stop and leaning against the wall just beside the door to the pharmacy. They leaned over slightly, taking note of the old boards that had been embedded into the window, its nails rusted and crooked. The glass of the door was cracked and even broken at the top, with stains of dried blood lightly splattering it. 

Akaashi looked back at their group, signing,  **We go in on 3.** When the others nodded in response, Akaashi let out a slow breath and adjusted their grip on their gun. They mouthed the numbers towards them, and then hit the door open with their elbows, rushing in. The others followed behind, pointing their guns all around and unsheathing their extra knives. 

The entire pharmacy was silent for a few moments, until a sudden shadowed figure leaped in front of them, and the click of a gun interrupted the moment of silence. The lantern being lit up from one of the shelves provided just enough light to see the person's face.

It was a child, most likely around 11. He was a bit tall, with messy blond hair and cracked glasses that were slipping off his face. His skin was coated in dirt and his mouth was set in a firm scowl as the hands holding the gun up to Akaashi's face trembled ever so slightly.

"S-Step away," he said slowly, swallowing and glancing behind him for a moment.

As Akaashi took a step forward, the child stepped back in surprise. He seemed to realize his mistake, and held his gun up higher, eyes widening. Akaashi frowned, narrowing their eyes at him, and then turned back to glance at Bokuto. The latter only shrugged in response, and Akaashi's frown deepened.

 **He's really young** , Kenma signed to Kuroo, who nodded in response. His gestures seemed to catch the child's attention, and he gasped softly. 

"Y-You can sign?" he whispered quietly, and a flash of uncertainty crossed his eyes as he scratched at his hands. "Do... do you have others with you? Do they have medicine?"

"He's just a kid, Keiji," Bokuto said, stepping forward and putting a hand over Akaashi's, slowly pulling the gun from their grip. He turned the safety on, and patted Akaashi's shoulders before turning his attention to the shaking child in front of them. "We have a group back in another town not too far from here. In a hospital."

At that, the child's following gasp was louder than before. He let the gun (which, Akaashi noted, was the one stolen from their car) fall from his hands and clatter to the ground, and then he stepped forward and kicked it with his foot so it slid over in front of Akaashi. 

"I..." he said slowly, and then clasped his hands together in front of him nervously. "Can you help my friend?"

 

* * *

 

The sight that met them was not one that they were expecting.

The child took them to a room in the back, where another, smaller, child lay on the dirty brown mattress. The mattress was stained with and surrounded by blood, and the blankets covering him were old and dusty. The child on the mattress was very pale, with freckles dotting his skin and messy brown hair. He looked up at the other child weakly, and smiled, giving a small, happy smile.

Then the sick child noticed the adults, and flinched. The movement made him groan, and shift around on the mattress. The taller child was at his side immediately, leaning down and taking his hand in a panic. He fumbled with his words, and then stopped, and hesitantly raised his hands. His movements were unsure and clumsy as he attempted to sign,  **They're going to help you.**

The messages weren't clear and the sick child only gave him a confused look, but when the blond pointed desperately at the adults, he seemed to realize and nodded once.

"What's wrong with him?" Kuroo asked, slinging the strap of his gun over his shoulder and stepping closer.

"H-He's deaf and can't hear me," the blond stammered. "And... his leg. I can't move him, he's too heavy..."

Iwaizumi knelt down beside him, giving the blond child a calm stare. "Hey, it's alright. What's this about his leg?"

The child swallowed, and then his hands trembled as he reached over the blanket and flipped it back. The sick child hissed at the action, clenching and wiggling his fingers as he arched his back. The blond child's fingers were shaking as he settled his hands back in his lap, gazing down at his friend worriedly. 

The group silently wandered up to surround the mattress, their throats going dry simultaneously. 

The sick child's left leg had been hacked off from the thigh-down, and very sloppily as well. The makeshift bandage (which was actually a bloody t-shirt) was slipping, revealing the obviously infected wound that was red and black. The bone was sticking out, parts of it cracked, and pus was oozing from the muscle. The blond child let out a squeak in the back of his throat and tried pressing the t-shirt back against the leg, but then the sick child grimaced and he reeled back in shock. He looked like he was on the verge of tears—both children did.

"...I... oh my _God_..." Oikawa whispered, eyes wide and knees going weak as he settled himself to take a seat. His stomach was flipping and he suddenly felt nauseous, but it would be rude to get sick after just seeing someone's wound. 

Iwaizumi was trying his best to keep his composure. He let out a slow breath, tightening his fists, and turned to the child beside him. "What happened?"

The blond child shook his head quickly, and then made a cutting motion with his hands. "I-I, um... h-he got bit w-when we were trying to get here, so I cut it off—" He stopped suddenly, eyes widened as he saw the angry look on Akaashi's face. He stammered a bit, shoulders shaking, and jumped to his feet in an instant. "B-But it's been a few days H-He hasn't turned, see? He's _fine!_ "

"Keiji," Bokuto muttered warningly, putting a hand over Akaashi's chest to prevent them from stalking forward. He didn't even flinch at Akaashi's warning glare, and continued to stare until Akaashi gave up and sighed.

"I believe him," Kuroo spoke up, and Oikawa nodded in agreement.

"You said he was deaf?" Akaashi asked, trying to take the gentle approach even if their expression betrayed them. When the blond child nodded, Akaashi turned towards Kenma and gave him a knowing look. "Talk to him."

Kenma pursed his lips.  **What do I say?**

Akaashi shrugged halfheartedly. "Well, I don't know. Tell him that..." They stopped, and then pursed their lips. 

Bokuto decided to butt in, "Tell him about how we're gonna help him!"

"Kou."

"What?? It's true, right?"

Akaashi was silent.

The blond child's eyes went wide, and he suddenly gripped onto Akaashi's sleeve. "Wha—you _are_ helping him, right!?" His voice was getting desperate. " _Right!?_ "

All Akaashi did in response was look at Kenma. The latter seemed to understand what to do, and shuffled closer to the mattress. He lightly tapped the sick child to get his attention, and then lifted his hands.

 **My name is K-E-N-M-A** , he said.  **What's yours?**

The sick child brightened.  **Y-A-M-A-G-U-C-H-I T-A-D-A-S-H-I.**

Kenma nodded as a greeting.  **We're going to help you, okay? We stay at a hospital, and I'm sure there will be enough supplies to aid you there. We'll take you there.**

 **Really?** The sick child gave him an incredulous look.  **Are you sure? You... really don't have to do that for me.**

Kenma shook his head.  **We're going to take you there.**

Akaashi watched with mild annoyance as Kenma went through and introduced all of them to him. The sick child, Yamaguchi, even went so far as to introduce his friend—Tsukishima Kei—and explained how they ended up in the pharmacy. From his story, they had been running from the monsters and Yamaguchi had ended up tripping. A monster grabbed him by the leg and bit onto his calf, and then the next thing he knew Tsukishima was crying and pulling him into the pharmacy where he wasted no time trying everything to get rid of the bite. At first, he tried slicing it off his skin, but when he started getting worried, he tried cutting off the leg entirely. It was a painful process and had to be done before 10 minutes was up, but by the time it was done Yamaguchi felt no signs of fever or sickness.

But then over the course of the next few days, infection had settled in and he was sick in an entirely new way.

"We have a car," Kuroo said, and then stopped, narrowing his eyes. "Wait. You stole the gun from it, didn't you?"

Tsukishima opened his mouth, and then closed it. He hesitated before mumbling, "Sorry..."

"It's fine!" Bokuto assured, helping Tsukishima to his feet and grinning down at him. "I think any of us would've done the same thing, y'know?"

As Bokuto leaned down to help the sick child up, Tsukishima stood back and picked at his nails sheepishly. It looked as if he wanted to help, but had no idea what to do. So instead, he watched as Bokuto took Yamaguchi into his arms, letting Kenma apologize for him when Yamaguchi let out a yelp. 

"Let's get him back to the car," he said.

Oikawa nodded, and started to walk out first, but then he stopped in place suddenly and let out a sudden cry of surprise as something grabbed him by the wrist. Iwaizumi was the first to rush forward, yanking Oikawa back and kicking whatever had grabbed him away. Oikawa stumbled back, nearly sending the two toppling over.

Kenma raised his gun when the monster growled and sneered as it stumbled into the room. Its missing arm was dripping with blackened blood everywhere as pus and an unusual yellow liquid spilled from between its little teeth and all over its chin. Just as the monster was getting closer, Kenma pulled the trigger and sent the bullet flying into the monster's forehead. It let out a garbled sound as the force of the shot sent it stumbling back, and it toppled to the side lifelessly.

And then after the monster fell, two more came pouring in. 

"Shit!" Iwaizumi cursed as he cocked his gun and set fire. It took around three shots just to get the first monster to fall, and the second took four.

"They must've saw us come in here," Oikawa said, positioning himself beside the doorway to the room and peering outside. There were monsters beginning to crawl inside the pharmacy, some missing their bottom halves of their bodies and some missing various limbs. Most were stumbling and snarling, trying anything to reach the live ones inside. Oikawa blanched and slammed the door shut without a second thought, pressing his weight against it to keep it closed despite the constant pounding and pushing of those outside. 

"Is there another way out!?" Iwaizumi hissed at Tsukishima.

He looked like he was about to pass out, but pulled himself together even for a split second and nodded. He turned, pointing over towards a large desk that was pushed up against a metal door. "It goes to the other side of the building," he said breathlessly. "It's the only other way out."

"Iwaizumi," Akaashi called, "move the desk and we'll hold the freaks off."

Iwaizumi didn't reply, but he nodded to acknowledge that he understood, and immediately went to work on moving the desk. It was heavier than it looked, and there were a lot of things stacked on top of it. Kuroo immediately jumped to his aid to make the process move along quicker.

Oikawa opened the door just slightly and stuck the tip of his gun out to shoot the hand of one monster that had grabbed for him, and then in the head. It fell to the ground, taking one or two down with it. He slammed it shut just as quickly as he had opened it, and let out a slow breath. His eyes were wide and blown, chocolate swirling with a terrifying mix of adrenaline and fear. 

Tsukishima hung back in the corner, near Kuroo and Iwaizumi. His eyes were fixed on Yamaguchi, and his face was pale and his shoulders were shaking. A lot different compared to the brave, indifferent child they had just met moments ago when he held a gun to their faces.

Suddenly, a large slam on the door launched Oikawa away from holding it, losing his footing and colliding on the ground with a loud smack. The door slammed open from the amount of force the weight of the monsters were producing, and some of them fell forward after leaning on the door for so long. Kuroo and Iwaizumi pushed the desk further, trying to open the door as much as they could in order to make an escape as the other group members took steps back. Gunfire echoed through the room, and Tsukishima covered his ears with his hands.

Kenma's eyes widened as his gun clicked no matter how many times he pulled the trigger. He hadn't packed any more guns on him, but there was no time to worry about that—a monster was drawing close, the skin on its face half-torn off and rotting. Kenma grimaced in disgust, and jerked the side just as the monster tried to make a grab for him. He leaned down and grabbed the knife hidden in his belt and swept his legs around until his feet popped the monster's kneecaps. The monster fell on its chin, making a loud growling sound in protest, and Kenma wasted no time jumping down and lodging the knife in its skull. The monster's growling dulled as it died, and Kenma struggled for a moment pulling the knife out. Another one was closing it, and Kenma panicked at its closeness, but then there was a gunshot and blood spewing from the monster's mouth and onto his clothes, and the monster clattered to the ground at his feet.

Kuroo stepped forward, taking Kenma's hand. "Are you okay?" he asked, and didn't wait for an answer as he dragged the other towards the now-open metal door. "C'mon, we gotta get the _fuck_ outta here!"

Kuroo picked up Kenma and practically tossed him out the door as a monster approached his back. Once Kenma was outside, he whirled around and jutted the gun against its head, cursing loudly as another pulled at his leg. He nearly stumbled, but Kenma reached forward and grabbed the back of his shirt. Kuroo pointed the gun near the monster—the one grabbing his leg—and shot its hand before its teeth managed to get anywhere close to him. The monster practically screeched, its cries echoing through the room, and Kuroo didn't waste time kicking it back and yanking the other monster's grip. He clambered over the remaining desktop blocking the way and nearly fell into Kenma's arms. He looked down at the latter to make sure he was okay, and then slammed the door shut once he saw that everyone had made it out safely.

It was pitch black outside. The streets were crawling with monsters.

"The car is on the other side of the pharmacy!" Akaashi exclaimed, they and the others already opening fire on the horde of monsters that had gathered around the pharmacy.

Oikawa was using his knife and Iwaizumi was struggling in the grip of a group of monsters, but Oikawa was quick and snuck up to stab them all in the head before they even knew it. 

Kenma's grip on his knife tightened, and he turned his head to the side to see Bokuto holding a crying Yamaguchi on one arm and holding the hand of Tsukishima with the other. He stayed back, hurriedly glancing around him for any sign of approaching monsters. As Kuroo rushed forward to help Akaashi and the others, Kenma stayed behind and held his knife out in front of him as a method of protection. Bokuto was far too busy with the kids to use his guns, so he took the one from Bokuto's back and loaded it, crouching down and pointing it towards the nearest monsters towards them.

"Is there a clear path to the car!?" Akaashi called over the growing noise of collective moans and groans from the monsters and the gunshots. They grunted as they kicked another monster away, reloading their gun as quickly as they could with shaking hands. Glancing back to make sure Bokuto was alright, they furiously looked around for any signs of anyone near them. But when they looked, everyone else was busy with another task, and they let out an angry cry out loud.

After a few more moments of struggling, Oikawa called out, "Yeah, but we have to go _right now!_ "

Akaashi nodded, and then turned back towards the others behind. "We're making a run for it!" they yelled, and didn't wait for their confirmations as they started rushing through the crowd.

Shoving aside monsters and even shooting some, they ignored the uncomfortable and disgusting touches of their rotten hands on their body. As they ran, they nearby fell into Oikawa, and only the sudden grab of Iwaizumi on their collar stopped them from toppling over. Iwaizumi let go quickly, and then shoved Oikawa forward as they started running for the car. The monsters were coming in close, and once they started to approach the alley by the gas station, Akaashi whirled around and aimed their gun towards the monsters that were closing in on Bokuto and the others. They narrowed their eyes, taking their time to accurately shoot in order to save bullets. Even if shooting as fast they could would save more time, it wouldn't prevent someone from getting bitten if it really came down to it.

Kuroo jumped in the front seat, struggling with the keys as his hands trembled with anxiety. Oikawa had to grab his hands to steady them as he led them into the ignition and turned them. The car jumped to a start, the headlights shining over the road and suddenly attracting the attention of the remaining monsters. Kuroo cursed under his breath, and stuck his head out the window, "It might be a good idea for us to leave _right the fuck now_."

Iwaizumi leaned in the backseat, gripping at his arm and groaning. Oikawa seated himself beside him, his breath coming out in short wheezes. Bokuto was the next to come up, and he urged Tsukishima to take Yamaguchi and help him onto the seat. Oikawa moved until he was sitting on the floor of the car so he could let Yamaguchi lie down, and Iwaizumi moved as well so Tsukishima could sit beside him. Bokuto clambered in, practically standing in the car and leaning over.

Kenma came in next, ducking inside in the front seat and sharing the seat with Akaashi. Just as Akaashi was about to ask if everyone was alright, the monsters suddenly started pounding on the doors and windows of the car, and they jumped back in shock. The force of the whacks were cracking the windows, and a few monsters were even climbing on top of the hood of the car and reaching for the ones inside.

Kuroo panicked and made a break for it, swerving the wheel and turning them around dramatically. The force of the turn made them all topple to the right, and Bokuto had to grab onto Yamaguchi to keep him from sliding too much.

The stars twinkled above them as the sound of groaning monsters behind them was drowned out by the rev of the car's engine.

 

* * *

 

They were about four minutes into driving when Iwaizumi suddenly yelled at Kuroo to stop.

The action startled him so badly that the resulting slam of the brakes almost made them fall forward, and Kuroo was breathless and he turned around and gave Iwaizumi an incredulous look. But then his look faded once he saw Iwaizumi's state, and all his breath left him in an instant.

Iwaizumi's face was flushed red, sweat pouring from every inch of his body. He was gripping his arm tightly, swallowing and scratching at his throat with his free hand. Oikawa didn't seem to notice that anything was amiss until he noticed Kuroo's shocked and worried gaze on the other.

"Iwa-chan...?" he said softly, leaning forward.

Iwaizumi turned his head away, and then opened the door. He scrambled out, stumbling and falling on the ground. He ignored Oikawa's call of his name as he started walking away from the car, and was startled to feel Oikawa turn him around.

"Iwa-chan, what the hell are you doing!?" he gasped.

The other narrowed his eyes. "Isn't it obvious?" he hissed, his voice scratchy and hoarse from his sore throat. When Oikawa still didn't seem to get it, he chewed on his bottom lip and hesitantly yanked his sleeve up.

The following gasp that ripped itself from Oikawa's throat was a sound Iwaizumi wished he could erase from his mind.

He gritted his teeth, hanging his head and his shoulders trembling as Oikawa reached forward. His fingers just barely brushed his arm before Iwaizumi leaned back, shoving Oikawa away. "Don't touch me," he snarled, eyes beginning to burn with the threat of tears. "Just... _don't_."

Oikawa's eyes lingered on the bite wound, already starting to glisten with the beginnings of infection and barely-noticeable red spots dotting around it. His throat was dry and he couldn't make any sounds other than incomprehensible whines, and he felt the eyes of everyone else from the car on his back as he grabbed onto Iwaizumi's wrist.

"N-no... _no_ , you're _not_ bitten," he sobbed, tears already starting to form despite how hard he tried to fight them. He tried lying to himself ( _Iwa-chan is fine Iwa-chan is fine Hajime is fine_ ), but it didn't work and all he wanted to do was to scream and sob and yell and curse whatever god was watching them and ask them why. Why _Iwaizumi_ and why not _him_?

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair.

Iwaizumi was crying and he was crying and he didn't know what to do, but then Iwaizumi suddenly grabbed the gun from his back pocket and was holding it to his head. Oikawa didn't even have the time to react before he was pulling the trigger and he screamed. 

But there was only a click, the sign of an empty load.

Oikawa let out a slow, relieved breath, hands shaking uncontrollably. His legs were threatening to give out, and he didn't know what to say. Iwaizumi let out an angry growl of frustration, throwing the gun to the ground, and then sunk hopelessly to the ground. His hands threaded through his hair, gripping and yanking as he sniffled and cursed at himself and everything. Oikawa fell to his knees in front of him, his arms wrapping around his shoulders and pulling his head to his chest. He didn't say anything as Iwaizumi cried into his shirt. His grip only tightened. Iwaizumi felt hot flush against his body, and he bit his lip to keep from letting out a pathetic cry out loud.

"...Tooru."

" _Stop_ ," Oikawa immediately said in reply, his voice cracking, and he buried his face in Iwaizumi's hair. 

"Tooru, your gun."

" _No_ , Iwa-chan, shut _up_. Stop."

"Give me the gun, Tooru." Iwaizumi's voice was desperate. "Please, _please_ , don't let me turn into one of those _monsters_."

Oikawa began to bawl, his body too weak to move, but he gasped in panic when he felt the gun slip from its rightful place on his belt. He moved immediately, grabbing Iwaizumi's wrist before he could put it to his head. 

"I'm _not_ letting you do this," he hissed, though the aggressive meaning behind him was erased by the ugly tears and snot smeared over his face.

Iwaizumi was quiet for a moment. He slid his sleeve back over his bite, and then pushed the gun into Oikawa's hands. He wrapped his long fingers around it, and Oikawa didn't have a chance to question what he was doing because Iwaizumi was already answering it, "Then _you_ do it."

"...W-What?"

"Don't let me turn into a monster, Tooru." Iwaizumi was crying even more than Oikawa, and his skin was already showing signs of turning. "I only have a few minutes left. Please, please, I don't want to hurt anyone—"

"I can't!" Oikawa cried. "I can't do it, Hajime, I _can't_ , please please _please_ don't die I can't _lose_ you—"

Iwaizumi leaned forward, cupping Oikawa's jaw and cutting him off by pressing their lips together. Tears mixed uncomfortably in their kiss, but Oikawa returned it nonetheless. First kisses were always awkward, but not this. Emotion radiated from the heat shared between them, and their lips slid over each other as Oikawa tilted his head to press himself closer. He wrapped his arms around Iwaizumi's shoulders, nearly sobbing as Iwaizumi's went around his waist and trailed up his back. Time seemed to pass in slow motion until they pulled away, and the crashing weight of reality crushed them both.

Iwaizumi gave a broken smile as he moved Oikawa's hands to press the muzzle of the gun between his eyes. Oikawa was shaking as Iwaizumi positioned his fingers over the trigger. When Oikawa tried to pull away, Iwaizumi only kissed his free hand, and nodded at him.

"I only have two minutes left, Tooru," he whispered, and the way he said it sounded so intimate and so inappropriate for someone who had just locked his fate. "Please, do this last thing for me."

Oikawa looked at the bite, which had worsened so much more since the last time he looked, and then into Iwaizumi's eyes. They were already ringed with an ugly yellow. Oikawa's broken sob was the final straw, and he hunched forward, scooting back a little and forcing himself to keep his unsteady arms upright.

The muzzle of the gun pressed tighter against Iwaizumi's forehead. 

Oikawa looked up at Iwaizumi, his eyes overflowing with a mix of emotions that they all blurred together into one—regret. "I'm s-so _sorry_."

"Not your fault," Iwaizumi assured, and, _fuck_ , he even dared to _smile_.

Oikawa shook his head rapidly, half-tempted to just drop the gun and engulf Iwaizumi in another kiss. Iwaizumi's breathing was beginning to get ragged, and his voice was coming out in tiny growls, and it wouldn't be long until he would lunge for Oikawa and try to eat him.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

And then he squeezed the trigger.

 

* * *

 

The hospital was silent, with an eerie aura of dread as Tsukishima walked in. Bokuto looked sullen as ever as he carried Yamaguchi in hurriedly, snatching a wheelchair from one of the nearby rooms and wheeling him into another room. When Tsukishima tried to follow, Akaashi stopped him with a sudden sharp hand blocking his way, and Tsukishima was left behind as everyone disappeared around him.

So, all by himself, he tucked himself away in the corner of the room and pulled his knees to his chest.

The silence was broken when there was a scatter of footsteps rushing towards him, and he looked up to see a boy with fiery orange hair and a smile like sunshine gazing down at him.

"Whoa!! A new kid!!" he shouted, despite his friends' suggestions for him to calm down. "I'm Hinata Shouyou!! It's nice to meet you!! What's your name? Where did you come from??"

The loudness of this boy disturbed him, and his heart was already aching from his separation from Yamaguchi and his worry about his well-being. But he figured he could use something to distract himself. So he looked up at Hinata, hesitantly reached for the hand being held out to him, and stared.

"I'm Tsukishima."

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i,,, u kno what this was literally so badly paced and written im so sorry i dont know what the fuck im doing honestly
> 
> scream to me on [tumblr](http://saltyiwaizumi.tumblr.com/)


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